Standing Rock: Protectors Demand Police End Roadblock Amid Blizzard Evacuations

As reported on Democracy Now! news headlines:

A second massive winter blizzard has hit the resistance camps at Standing Rock in North Dakota last night, forcing water protectors to seek shelter in nearby community centers and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe casino. The Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council said it has treated two people for hypothermia, and condemned the state of North Dakota for maintaining a police roadblock on Highway 1806—the main road leading in and out of the camps—that has been delaying the evacuation of patients amid the blizzard. Thousands of water protectors remain at Standing Rock, concerned that the company behind the pipeline has vowed to drill on despite being denied the permit by the Army. On Monday, Energy Transfer Partners filed a lawsuit in federal court asking a judge to grant the necessary permit, claiming the Army has bowed to political pressure. In the filing, Energy Transfer Partners says the delays to the project have cost $450 million so far.